Larry King brings his live show to O.C. Sunday

Larry King ended a 25-year stint as a talk show host on CNN last December. Now he's working on a live show, which he'll bring Sunday to Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY FULLERTON CIVIC LIGHT OPERA

Larry King has been keeping busy since his talk show on CNN ended in December after a 25-year run. Among his interests: standup comedy.

You heard it right. In fact, you'll get a chance to see King in action this weekend when he flexes his new muscles at Plummer Auditorium on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. The show, a benefit for Fullerton Civic Light Opera, will be an evening of anecdotes, reminiscences and interaction with the audience.

We talked to King earlier this week about his upcoming appearance and his career plans now that he has more time on his hands.

The Orange County Register:Whyare you doing a fundraiser for Fullerton Civic Light Opera?

Larry King: Actually, my father-in-law has booked shows there. I've met them, it's a nice place; they help the community a lot. I like to help charity; I do it all the time. I love to give back and I also love telling stories. I've been doing that a long time. In fact I'm going to start touring now. I'll be doing major arenas, also Las Vegas. Yeah, I'm gonna do casinos. I've always enjoyed speaking at conventions and sales meetings. Now that I'm free to do things I couldn't do before, this will be one of them. My wife (Shawn Southwick) sings as well, so she's part of the show. We did it in Las Vegas last year. Another thing I like: it's fun to make people laugh. One of the biggest kicks you get is having people laugh at you.

Register:What will your Fullerton show be like?

King: My wife will sing for about 15 to 30 minutes, then I will come out and tell stories – true stories about my early years, about being in broadcasting. I'll tell some backstage stories. I open it up to the audience in the last 20 minutes. If it works, people should have a good time. I'm a storyteller by nature; I was always that way as a kid. When I came back from a baseball game I liked to describe the whole thing to my friends.

Register:What about your childhood? There are some sad stories there – you father's death, your poverty.

King: I don't talk about that. Nothing serious! Some of the questions are serious. But my main goal is to make it a fun evening. It's a little bit on the order of Billy Crystal's "700 Sundays" without the seriousness.

Register:Where are you taking this show?

King: It will be done in theaters. It'll be more heavily produced when it's in a theater; they'll show some tapes behind me. There's been some interest in other parts of the country, also in Canada and Australia and New Zealand.

Register:I've read that Jackie Gleason and Bobbie Darin were instrumental in getting your career on the fast track.

King: Yes. Bobby Darin was my first interview ever of a famous person. He just walked in. You know, he knew he was gonna die early. "I'm in a rush," he said. He died at 37, I think. At the time I talked to him he was in his late 20s. He'd had heart disease since he was very young. He told me he got his name when he was walking in Queens and he passed a Chinese Mandarin restaurant, but the lights weren't all working. Only 'DARIN' was lit up. I love stories about how people take stage names and where they get their names from. I have a good story about that. Minutes before I went on air, I was told to change my name. I had to come up with something fast. So that's where "King" came from.

Register:What's the secret to your success as an interviewer?

King: What I've always tried to do is be an everyman. I never pretended to intellectual genius; I never went to college. I'm sort of a guy off the street. The simplest questions are the best. Some showoff interviewers will talk for three minutes before asking a question. I think you should shut up.

Larry King ended a 25-year stint as a talk show host on CNN last December. Now he's working on a live show, which he'll bring Sunday to Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY FULLERTON CIVIC LIGHT OPERA
Larry King's show is a combination of anecdotes, his wife's singing, and answering questions from the audience. He wants to develop it into a Las Vegas act. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY FULLERTON CIVIC LIGHT OPERA
Larry King pleaded no contest to passing a bad check in Florida in 1971. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY WWW.MUGSHOTS.ORG
Larry King in action circa 1991. King was famous for simple, direct questions on his CNN show. Some criticized it as simplistic, but for years he was CNN's most popular host. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY CNN.
Larry King and his wife, Shawn Southwick, pose with President George Bush in 2006. King has interviewed and befriended many famous politicians. He say his one last never-snagged interview is with Cuban leader Fidel Castro. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY FULLERTON CIVIC LIGHT OPERA
Larry King got his start in Florida in the late 1950s. He worked his way up at a small radio station. His first celebrity interview, unplanned, was with singer Bobby Darin. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY FULLERTON CIVIC LIGHT OPERA
Larry King wants to take his live show around the country. There has also been interest in taking the show to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO COURTESY FULLERTON CIVIC LIGHT OPERA
Larry King traded-in his trademark suspenders for a Los Angeles Dodgers Mickey Mouse-ear hat with a chin strap in honor of the MLB All-Star Parade July 13, which began at Disneyland. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO BY JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Larry King will appear at Fullerton's Plummer Auditorium, which is where the troubled Fullerton Civic Light Opera held its seasons for many years. TEXT BY PAUL HODGINS, PHOTO BY MARK RIGHTMIRE, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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